Josh Hazlewood has already turned his mind to November’s Ashes opener in Perth, and he reckons England are about to arrive with the sharpest batting unit he has seen in an Ashes summer at home.
The fast bowler plans to squeeze in at least one Sheffield Shield match after Australia’s limited-overs fixtures wrap up, preferring a steady run of cricket rather than a long rest. It is, he believes, the most sensible way to keep the body ready for Joe Root, Harry Brook and a top seven he describes as “an unbelievable batting line”.
Recent workloads
Hazlewood featured in five of the six white-ball games against South Africa, having been rested for the T20Is in the Caribbean straight after the West Indies Tests. Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc have had even lighter schedules. By contrast, Hazlewood has asked the selectors for regular overs.
“It felt like over the last 12 months, the best way for me to go about it is just keep on ticking over, keep playing, not having too long off bowling,” Hazlewood said during a Play Cricket week event. “I find…getting back to that intensity and volume is quite tough for me. So if I can just keep staying up there, match intensity as long as I can, then that’s sort of the best way for me to go about it.”
England’s changing approach
Hazlewood bowled in four Tests during the 2023 Ashes in England and followed that campaign closely. He noticed the visitors tempering their all-out attack against India earlier this month, although their final-day wobble at The Oval – a 7 for 66 slide sparked by Brook – cost them by six runs. The blend of aggression and restraint, he thinks, could be even more dangerous on the quicker Australian pitches.
Brook factor
Brook is ranked No.2 in the ICC Test batting standings behind Root. He has never played a Test in Australia, and his nine T20Is here in 2022 produced a best of only 20. Still, Hazlewood expects the Yorkshireman to adapt.
“England has obviously been quite flat wickets recently, the last few years, and it’s been a really dry summer as well, so they are probably starting to get tired and spin now,” Hazlewood said. “I think [Brook] will adapt. He’s a good player. He’s at the top of the rankings for a reason, and he’ll be a tough challenge.”
Root’s Australian story
Root averages 35.68 from 14 Tests in Australia and is yet to reach three figures here – a quirk rather than a reflection of form, according to Hazlewood. The seamer remembers the 2013-14 tour when Mitchell Johnson’s pace, Ryan Harris’s relentlessness and Peter Siddle’s accuracy squeezed England.
“When [Root] first came out, it was a little bit of a different attack. It was probably [Mitchell] Johnson and [Ryan] Harris and [Peter] Siddle. Gaz [Nathan Lyon] has been around a long time now, so he was probably there, but we sort of just jumped on the back of that,” he said.
A fresh slate might even help Brook, Hazlewood suggests.
“I think a fresh face like Harry Brook might find it easier. There’s no baggage behind him and he can just come out and play with freedom as he does. Joe’s probably in the form of his life as well. So they’re an unbelievable batting line, to be honest. The top seven have done really well…so it’s a challenge.”
Asked directly whether this is the strongest England batting group he has seen on Australian soil, Hazlewood was brief: “Yeah, definitely.”
Managing the run-in
Australia host New Zealand in three T20Is in early October and then India for a mix of ODIs and T20Is. The selectors are yet to finalise Hazlewood’s exact programme, but the bowler is lobbying for one Shield match – most likely for New South Wales at the SCG – to top up the red-ball miles. He feels a Shield outing, a couple of white-ball matches and regular training will leave him in the right space, physically and tactically, for the first Ashes Test at Perth Stadium.
“I’m not fussed about big breaks these days,” he said quietly before heading to another promotional duty. The Ashes, he reminded reporters, roll round quickly once the spring cricket starts. With England’s batting “unbelievable”, he’d rather be bowling than resting.
